At Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, United States Marine Private William Santiago dies after being tied up and beaten in the middle of the night. Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey face court-martial, accused of murder. Their defense is assigned to United States Navy JAG Corps Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, who has a record of expedient plea bargains but no courtroom experience. Santiago died after breaking the chain of command to ask for a transfer. The base's second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson advocated for it, but the base commander, Colonel Nathan Jessep, ordered Santiago's platoon commander, First Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick, to "train" Santiago on the grounds that the entire platoon is at fault for Santiago's substandard performance. Kaffee's co-counsel, Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway, suspects Dawson and Downey carried out a "code red": a violent extrajudicial punishment. Galloway is bothered by Kaffee's blasé approach, and Kaffee resents Galloway's interference. Kaffee and Galloway question Jessep and others at Guantanamo Bay and are met with contempt. Kaffee negotiates a plea bargain with the prosecutor, US Marine Judge Advocate Captain Jack Ross. Dawson and Downey would be sentenced to two years for involuntary manslaughter, including six months of confinement, enabling them to avoid a possible life sentence if convicted at trial. Dawson is openly disrespectful of Kaffee, and Dawson and Downey refuse the "dishonorable" deal, insisting Kendrick gave them the "code red" order and that they never intended to kill Santiago. Initially intending to be removed as defense counsel, Kaffee unexpectedly enters not guilty pleas at the arraignment. Markinson secretly meets Kaffee and says Jessep never ordered Santiago's transfer. The defense establishes that Dawson had a motive to implement the order; he previously received a negative performance review from Kendrick and was denied promotion after disobeying an order and smuggling food to a confined marine who was restricted to water and vitamins. Through Downey, Kaffee proves that illegal "code reds" had previously been ordered. Under cross-examination, Downey admits he was not present when Kendrick gave the supposed "code red" order, so he cannot verify Dawson's account. Ashamed that he failed to protect Santiago and unwilling to testify against Jessep, Markinson commits suicide. Kaffee laments the loss of Markinson's testimony and his decision to risk long sentences for Dawson and Downey. Co-counsel Lieutenant (junior grade) Sam Weinberg recommends not calling Jessep as a witness but Galloway encourages Kaffee to put him on the stand, despite the possibility of a court-martial if he challenges a high-ranking officer without evidence. After Weinberg and Galloway leave, Kaffee has an epiphany while looking into his closet. He runs outside to tell them he will call Jessep as a witness. In court at the Washington Navy Yard, Jessep is unnerved when Kaffee points out an inconsistency in his testimony – that Guantanamo marines would never disobey his order to "not touch Santiago" yet he ordered Santiago off the base because he feared for Santiago's safety. Kaffee also questions Jessep's claim that Santiago was to be put on a flight to the US because Kaffee's realization was that the uniforms and personal effects in Santiago's wall locker were not packed on the night he died despite Santiago supposedly being scheduled to depart at six o'clock in the morning. Frustrated by the exposure of his lies and the intensity of Kaffee's questions, Jessep extols the military's – and his – importance to national security, angrily exclaiming, "You can't handle the truth!" Kaffee pointedly asks if Jessep ordered the "code red", which Jessep heatedly admits. Jessep is arrested, then tries to assault Kaffee. He is restrained by military police and is read his rights. Dawson and Downey are cleared of murder and conspiracy but convicted of " conduct unbecoming " and will be dishonorably discharged. Downey does not understand what they did wrong; Dawson says they failed to defend those who were unable to fight for themselves. Kaffee tells Dawson it is not necessary to wear rank insignia on one's arm to have honor. Dawson demonstrates newfound respect for Kaffee and acknowledges his status as an officer by rendering a salute. Kaffee and Ross exchange pleasantries before Ross departs to arrest Kendrick for perjury and conspiracy.

Emory Leeson is an advertising executive who experiences a nervous breakdown. He designs a series of "truthful" advertisements, blunt and bawdy and of no use to his boss Drucker's firm. One of his colleagues, Stephen Bachman, checks him into a psychiatric hospital. Emory goes into group therapy under the care of Dr. Liz Baylor and meets other voluntary patients, such as the lovely and vulnerable Kathy Burgess. There is also George, who can speak only one word: "Hello." By mistake, Emory's advertisements get printed and the new campaign turns out to be a tremendous success. Campaigns like: " Jaguar — For men who'd like hand jobs from beautiful women they hardly know." and " Volvo — they're boxy but they're good." Drucker grabs credit for the ads. He assigns Stephen and the rest of his employees to design similar new ad campaigns featuring so-called honesty in advertising, but nothing works. Emory is approached in the sanitarium about creating new ads himself. He insists that his fellow mental patients also be involved and suitably rewarded for their work, transforming the sanitarium into a branch of the advertising industry. They come up with wild advertising slogans, like one for a Greek travel agency that goes: "Forget Paris. The French can be annoying. Come to Greece. We're nicer." And another one called "Come... IN the Bahamas " for the islands' national tourism board. The patients experience happiness at being needed and improve from their various illnesses, including George, who begins to speak. Drucker and the doctor in charge of the hospital get greedy and try to separate the team, but it doesn't work. Dr. Baylor defies her boss and Emory negotiates to get new automobiles for all of the patients. Emory and Kathy, who have fallen in love, leave the hospital in an army helicopter piloted by Kathy's long-lost brother, stopping to take the rest of the patients with them. They then open their own advertising agency, with Sony ("Sony - Because Caucasians are just too damn tall") as their first client.

The film is divided into three parts, plus an epilogue, but these parts are not explicitly defined within the movie.

In 1988, Dottie Hinson attends the opening of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame. She sees many former teammates and friends playing a game, prompting a flashback to 1943. With World War II threatening to shut down Major League Baseball (MLB), Chicago Cubs owner Walter Harvey persuades his fellow owners to bankroll a women's league. Ira Lowenstein is put in charge. Scout Ernie Capadino attends an industrial-league softball game in Oregon and likes what he sees in Dottie, the catcher for a local dairy. She is not interested and is happy with her life, waiting for her husband Bob to return from the war. Her younger sister, Kit Keller, however, is desperate to escape and make something of herself. Capadino is unimpressed by Kit's batting and refuses to watch her pitch but agrees to take her along if she changes Dottie's mind. Dottie agrees for her sister's sake. Dottie and Kit travel to Harvey Field (a fictionalized Wrigley Field) in Chicago for tryouts; en route, they force Capadino to accept homely second baseman Marla Hooch. They meet taxi dancer Mae "All-the-Way-Mae" Mordabito, her best friend, bouncer Doris Murphy, soft-spoken right fielder Evelyn Gardner, illiterate left fielder Shirley Baker, pitcher/ shortstop and former Miss Georgia beauty queen Ellen Sue Gotlander, left field/ relief pitcher Betty "Spaghetti" Horn, first baseman Helen Haley and Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers. They and five others constitute the Rockford Peaches, while 48 others make up the Racine Belles, the Kenosha Comets and the South Bend Blue Sox. The Peaches are managed by former star Cubs slugger Jimmy Dugan, a cynical alcoholic. He initially treats the whole concept as a joke, forcing Dottie to take over as on-field leader. Dugan is also abrasive toward his players. The team travels with Evelyn's spoiled, bratty son Stillwell and team chaperone Miss Cuthburt. With a Life magazine photographer in the stands, Lowenstein begs the players to do something spectacular, as the league has attracted little attention. Dottie obliges, catching a popped-up ball behind home plate while doing a split. The resulting photograph makes the magazine cover. A publicity campaign draws more people to the ballgames, but the owners remain unconvinced. The teammates bond. Marla marries a man named Nelson whom she met on a raucous roadhouse outing and leaves the team for the rest of the season, Mae teaches Shirley to read, and Evelyn writes a team song. Lowenstein promotes Dottie as the face of the league, making Kit resentful. Their sibling rivalry intensifies, resulting in Kit's trade to the Racine Belles. The Peaches end the season with the league's best record, qualifying for the World Series. Betty receives a telegram, informing her that her husband was killed in action in the Pacific Theater. Grief-stricken, she leaves the team. That evening, Dottie receives a surprise when Bob shows up, having been wounded and discharged from the Army. Jimmy discovers that Dottie is going home with Bob. Unable to persuade her to play in the World Series, he tells her she will regret her decision. The Peaches face the Belles in the World Series, which goes the full seven games. Dottie rejoins the Peaches for the seventh game, while Kit is the starting pitcher for the Belles. With the Belles leading by a run in the top of the ninth, Dottie drives in the go-ahead run. Kit is distraught, but gets a second chance when she comes to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. She gets a hit and, ignoring the third base coach's sign to stop, collides with Dottie at the plate and causes her to drop the ball, thus scoring the winning run. The sellout crowd convinces Harvey to give Lowenstein the owners' support. After the game, the sisters reconcile before Dottie leaves with Bob. Back in the present at Cooperstown, Dottie is reunited with the other players – including Kit – Capadino and Lowenstein, and reveals that Bob died the previous winter. She also discovers that Jimmy died a year earlier, in 1987, and she meets a grown up Stillwell, who tells her that Evelyn died a couple years earlier. The surviving Peaches sing Evelyn's team song and pose for a photo. During the closing credits, they play baseball once again at Doubleday Field.

Set in an unspecified country, a woman is taken from her home in the middle of the night, accused of embedding dissident messages into her book Closet Land. The book is a story about a child who, as a result of bad behavior, has been locked in a closet as punishment. While in there, the child is greeted by a group of childhood ally archetypes who innocently attempt to comfort the scared little girl. The seemingly simple content is questioned by the government, which accuses the author of encouraging and introducing disloyalty among its audience of naïve children. The interrogator is obstinate in his belief that the author is guilty of hidden propaganda. It is revealed that the novel was actually created as a form of escapism, providing a coping mechanism for the author, who endured sexual abuse as a child. Near the end of the film, the interrogator claims that he was the man who had sexually abused the author in her childhood. But one cannot be entirely sure he is telling the truth, as the film suggests he was just using the abuse against her as a way of breaking her down. After subjecting her to lengthy physical and mental torture, and pretending to be several other people (another prisoner, a more brutal interrogator) while the victim is blindfolded and handcuffed, the interrogator tries to get her to sign a confession—to save her life. While he knows now that she is innocent, he implores her to confess to avoid execution. She refuses, and goes to her death.

Teenager Dallas Edwards and his derelict friends go on a quest for the meaning behind a series of mysterious, paranormal events in Southern California.

In Liverpool, England in 1960, art students and friends John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe have an altercation with a group of men outside a club, with Stu sustaining a head injury. Stu is a painter, and has joined John's rock-and-roll group the Beatles as their bass guitarist. The Beatles, their line-up comprising John, Stu, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best, travel by ship to Hamburg, Germany, and are introduced to the city's red-light district, the Reeperbahn. The band plays regularly at the Kaiserkeller club, and their sleeping quarters are the storeroom of the Bambi Kino, a small cinema. They meet German artist Klaus Voormann, and begin taking the drug Preludin to stay awake and play for long hours. Klaus brings his girlfriend, German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, to see the Beatles perform, and introduces her to Stu. The Beatles and Astrid go to Bar Enfer, where a drunk John begins yelling at Stu over Astrid, before being escorted out by Paul. Later, the Beatles pose for photographs taken by Astrid. A record producer from Polydor Records comes to the Kaiserkeller to see the Beatles perform, but when he arrives, Stu is on stage singing " Love Me Tender " to Astrid, and the producer leaves, unimpressed. Paul wants Stu out of the band, but John states that if Stu leaves, he leaves as well. The producer from Polydor returns to the Kaiserkeller and gives the Beatles the opportunity to perform on a record the following day. Stu says he is ill, so the other Beatles leave without him to attend the recording session, which sees them backing up singer Tony Sheridan. Astrid and Stu take photographs and have sex, and Klaus catches Stu and Astrid in bed together. Stu comes back to the Bambi Kino to find Ringo Starr, a drummer from another band, sleeping in his bunk bed. John remarks that he thought Stu had moved in "with the SS ", and informs Stu that the Beatles are now playing at the Top Ten Club. Stu chooses instead to focus on his paintings. John visits Astrid, who criticizes him for his anger and accuses him of being jealous of her relationship with Stu. The Beatles are suddenly deported when authorities discover that George is under the age of 18; Stu and Astrid bid each other goodbye. By December 1960, Stu wants to return to Hamburg, as he has not painted since he left. John thinks that Astrid was insinuating he has homosexual feelings towards Stu. By March 1961, George has turned 18, and the Beatles return to Hamburg, where Stu reunites with Astrid, who gives him a " mop top " haircut. Stu later tells John that he no longer wants to be in the band, and the two have a physical fight over Astrid. During a game of limbo at a club, Stu collapses in pain. A doctor suggests the incident is the result of a head injury. Stu proposes marriage to Astrid, and is accepted into a German art school. Stu and Astrid visit a beach with John and John's girlfriend Cynthia Powell; there, John expresses feelings for Astrid, but notes she fell in love with Stu. Stu and Astrid go to see the Beatles perform, with Paul having taken over as bassist, and the group bids the two farewell before leaving Hamburg. On 13 August 1961, Stu comes home to find Astrid and Klaus holding hands, watching the news about the Berlin Wall being erected. Enraged, Stu assaults Klaus and throws paint all over Astrid's photographs and darkroom. He later apologises to Astrid, stating that his behaviour was unlike himself. Astrid tells Stu that the Beatles will soon become famous, and that Stu will grow to resent her as a result, but Stu denies this. Stu collapses in pain and dies of a brain haemorrhage. The Beatles, with John, Paul and George now sporting mop-top hairstyles, come back to Hamburg, where Astrid informs John that Stu is dead. At the Beatles' next performance, John sings a verse from "Love Me Tender" before the group breaks into " Twist and Shout ". Astrid watches them perform before making her exit through the adoring crowd.

Richard Gaddis is a small-time crook with a penchant for con games. To hook marks, he acts and dresses like a well-to-do businessman, believing that one must look like a professional in order to be a successful conman. Gaddis is searching for a new partner with whom he can perform more sophisticated cons. He discovers Rodrigo after he sees the young man playing some minor con games in a casino - bar. When Rodrigo is caught, Gaddis acts the part of a vice officer to save him from being arrested. Rodrigo's contribution is a face and naive manner so trustable that he is able to con anyone, while Richard is both completely unprincipled and clever. After several small tests to determine Rodrigo's trustworthiness, he suggests a partnership, to which Rodrigo quickly agrees. Although Rodrigo distrusts Richard greatly, he agrees to partner him on a gigantic scam, provided he gets a percentage of the money gained to help his ailing father, who is in trouble because of his gambling debts. Richard accepts, and they plan to sell a fraudulent version of a silver certificate currency note to William Hannigan, a rich collector who is in town. When Hannigan takes a fancy to the uptight Valerie, Gaddis' sister who is a concierge at a hotel, Gaddis is forced to pull her into the scam, the price of which is Richard's admission to their brother Michael that he has cheated him out of his share of their inheritance. The plot twists constantly as each of the characters becomes more deeply invested in the scam, and the ever-deceitful Richard tries to cheat Rodrigo, Valerie and Michael out of their share of the take. In a twist ending, it is revealed that all the major players involved, including Rodrigo and Hannigan, were playing a "confidence game" against Gaddis from the very beginning, so that Valerie and Michael could rightfully take their share of their inheritance.